Putting a new mailbox up? Be sure to follow the official guidance from the U.S. Postal Service.®
Here are a few rules, tips, and suggestions to make your mail carrier's day a little smoother.
USPS-approved mailboxes have Postmaster General (PMG) approval labels. Have your post office approve your mailbox plans if you're making your box. Its height should be 41-45 inches above the ground, and set 6-8 inches back from the curb. Your number should be clearly marked on the mailbox. It's helpful to number your home as well. If on a corner, mark your mailbox with your complete street address.
Switching to a wall-mounted box? Get your post office's go-ahead first. No PMG approval label is required. Just be sure the box can handle your normal volume of mail, including magazines. Place it in a spot that's visible and convenient for the carrier.
Tip: Think about your carrier (and the substitutes). If you put up wind chimes and garden lighting, hanging baskets and so forth, be mindful of the carrier's path.
A proper mailbox post is strong and stable, but will bend or fall if hit by a car. It's two inches in diameter if made of metal. It's four by four inches if made of wood.
Posts should be buried up to two feet deep. (Concrete-filled containers are not recommended.)
Tip: When inclement weather arrives, remember that your mail carrier needs a safe approach — free of mud, ice, or snow — to the mailbox or mail slot.
If the mail comes through a slot, be sure the opening is 7 by one and a half inches, or larger. The bottom of the slot must be thirty inches above the ground.
Is the slot horizontal? The flap should open upward, hinged at the top of the slot. If vertical, it must be hinged opposite of the door hinge side.
Tip: Be sure the opening is clear for the carrier to deliver your mail without struggling. There are approved inner shields for slots to use, rather than stuffing anything in the slot to insulate your place from a draft. Oh, and do you happen to have a cat? With claws? Be sure the cat isn't making a sport out of grabbing the mail or trying to catch the carrier's hand through the slot! Being mindful might not be a rule, but it's nice.
Sun, rain, snow, or wind... Mail carriers brave it all for us. Help your neighborhood stay carrier-friendly in return. Know the rules. Consider the mail from your carrier's point of view.
Shana Lundell has been a real estate professional since 2003 in Bourne, Cape Cod, Plymouth and the surrounding areas, where she’s lived since 2000. Shana is a luxury and waterfront specialist who has represented hundreds of buyers and sellers, including representing builders in over 100 new construction transactions in her career. She consistently achieves recognition awards for top production, including membership in the Coldwell Banker® International President’s Elite, an honor reserved for the Top 3% of agents globally. Shana ranks in the Top 100 of 4,000 Coldwell Banker agents in New England.
Shana works with a range of clients, including lifestyle properties, vacation residences, down-sizers, trade-up buyers, land, first-time home buyers, and new construction sales. She understands that moving happens for a myriad of reasons and has had the honor of helping all types of transactions. Many emotions can come into play during this time, but Shana is skilled at keeping calm and carrying on with care, professionalism, open communication, and the ability to keep things on target to achieve results. She guides her clients smoothly through the process, from dynamic marketing measures, negotiation and solution strategies, connecting pivotal professional resources, to coordinating the essential closing details.
Shana is proud to have over 100 five-star client testimonials that rave about her positive, professional, responsive, and authentic approach to real estate service. Love where you live. Live where you love. Looking to buy or sell? Call Shana Lundell!
